NFL
The Bills Travel To Houston This Week To Get Their Second Straight Win
The Buffalo Bills will take on the Houston Texans in hopes that they can continue their momentum from last week’s win. The Texans will look to keep their winning streak going against the struggling Bills.
Houston escaped with a win against the Dallas Cowboys last week. The Bills defeated the Tennessee Titans in a low-scoring slugfest. Buffalo will look for some offensive consistency as they rely on rookie quarterback Josh Allen.
Week 5 Recap
The Bills faced the Titans last week and came out victorious in an ugly 13-12 win. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen only attempted 19 passes and finished with a mere 82 yards.
This is a strategy that will not work every week as the Bills will need to throw it downfield at some point. On the bright side, LeSean McCoy had his best game of the year compiling over 100 yards from scrimmage. He was also given his biggest workload of the year with 26 touches.
The Bills defense also held up in the win as Marcus Mariota was only able to throw for 129 yards. The Titans were also not able to get going on the ground with only 90 yards combined from Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry.
The Texans, on the other hand, won a highly competitive game against the Cowboys. They were able to eke out a 19-16 win. It took 375 passing yards from Deshaun Watson and 151 receiving yards from DeAndre Hopkins to get it done.
The Texans defense worked the Cowboys as they held Ezekiel Elliot to 54 yards on 20 carries. Dak Prescott only threw for 208 yards and two INTs. The Texans will look to keep the offensive and defensive momentum going this week.
Keys To The Game
Buffalo Bills
For the Bills to upset the Texans, they will need to get LeSean McCoy going. He is the key to their offense as they cannot rely on the inconsistency of quarterback Josh Allen. Expect McCoy to get at least 20 touches unless the Bills get down early.
If they are down early, Josh Allen should be ready to throw as much as possible. He has been very inaccurate this year. Buffalo should look to get Allen involved as a rusher as he has been at his best this year when they allow him to move in the pocket.
On defense, the Bills need to put consistent pressure on Deshaun Watson. This worked for the Cowboys last week as Watson looks uncomfortable getting hit as much as he did. The Bills will also need to contain Watson’s rushing ability if they want to win.
The last key is cornerback Tre’Davious White. He will need to contain Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins who made a fool out of the Cowboys secondary last week.
Houston Texans
The Texans’ biggest key to this game is not to let Deshaun Watson get hit as much as he was last week. Watson came out of the game last week with an injury that has kept him in limited practice this week. If they can give him ample time to make a play they should be well on their way to winning.
It is unclear at this point if Alfred Blue or Lamar Miller will draw the start this week. Blue was very effective last week as he had 119 scrimmage yards on 28 touches. Whoever plays the lead back role they will need to get going in order to take some pressure off of Deshaun Watson.
On defense, they need to contain LeSean McCoy and make Josh Allen beat them over the top. Allen has not shown consistency and the Texans should look to exploit that.
Fantasy Implications
For the Bills, they have very few players that are fantasy relevant. The biggest draw is RB LeSean McCoy as he should get his second straight game with over 20 touches. He is a low-end RB3 this week at best. He cannot be relied on until he proves he can produce consistently. Josh Allen and Kelvin Benjamin are merely desperation plays against a tough Texans defense.
The Texans fantasy outlook is much better. The Bills defense has been generous to opposing offenses in games where they get down early. If the Texans can take advantage of this Deshaun Watson is high-end play this week. He should be considered a high-end QB1 and started in every league. Receiver DeAndre Hopkins is a top three play this week.
Other Texans receivers Will Fuller and Keke Coutee are sneaky flex players with high upside. Depending on the running back that starts they are both RB2 plays. Alfred Blue can be a better player if he starts as he adds more receiving ability.
Photo Credit
Featured Image courtesy of Erik Drost
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